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Greetings, District 2!
It’s April, and with the final quarter of the school year in full swing, here is what’s in bloom at Dallas ISD:
Dallas ISD District 2 Monthly Updates:
Dallas ISD Chart Toppers: For the second year in a row, Dallas ISD high schools earned the top three spots in Texas. According to the latest U.S. News & World Report’s 2024 Best High Schools rankings, four Dallas ISD schools earned a top 10 ranking in Texas!
Like Mother, Like Daughter: As Mother's Day nears, I'm delighted to spotlight this incredible pair of Dallas ISD educators! Great teaching runs in their family, as both excellent educators were recently recognized by the district: one as the Dan D. Rogers Campus Teacher of the Year and the other as a Teacher of Promise. What an inspiring duo!
School Safety: Safety is top priority in Dallas ISD at every level. In addition to monthly closed session board briefings with the Trustees where ongoing safety audits and other security matters are analyzed, Dallas ISD’s School Safety, Monitoring and Resources Department, which ensures that all schools and district facilities are equipped with the tools and technology systems needed to monitor and provide a safe environment, continues its vigilant oversight, ongoing implementation, and review.
Superintendent Kudos: As highlighted in the Dallas Morning News Opinion piece, Dr. Elizalde and her team are focused on initiatives that include strengthening curriculum quality, clarifying and streamlining pathways and programs, and improving the school counselor framework to better educate our kids: our future leaders, workforce, and neighbors.
Amazing Bus Driver Appreciation: The thoughtful action of decorating a special education bus exemplifies the heartwarming impact that caring staff can have on student experiences. We appreciate our bus drivers throughout Dallas ISD who brighten our students’ journeys!
April Board Meeting Debrief:
This month, Dallas ISD had its regular board briefing and meeting. I’ve chosen to highlight three important items below:
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College and Career Readiness Progress Report: The Board reviewed the district’s progress on its goals relating to college readiness, college enrollment, and attainment of industry credentials. The full report can be found at the link in the title but overall, Dallas ISD showed some growth on the percent of students achieving a college ready score on college readiness exams and strong growth on achievement of workforce and industry credentials. However, Dallas ISD did see a slight dip in college enrollment immediately following high school. To drive improvement, Dallas ISD is proposing expansion of college career and advising including supporting students after graduation and better technology to help keep students on track with their coursework at each campus.
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Environmental Impact Update: In 2020, Dallas ISD Board initiated a resolution to enhance environmental sustainability and fiscal efficiency. The district has become a national model, achieving a remarkable $19.8 million in cost savings. Key successes include significant reductions in landfill contributions, water, natural gas, and energy usage, demonstrating Dallas ISD's commitment to both environmental stewardship and educational investment.
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Superintendent Evaluation Policy: This month, the Board unanimously passed a policy codifying the structure of the Superintendent’s Evaluation instrument in a way that creates strong alignment between the Superintendent’s Evaluation and the achievement of the district’s goals and constraints. Now, 82% of the Superintendent’s evaluation is based quantitatively on how effectively the Superintendent (and, Dallas ISD) does in achieving the academic goals for our school system and adhering to the values that we’ve identified in our constraints (student culture, staff culture, financial sustainability, effective educators, etc.). I want to give a special thanks to Trustee Ben Mackey for his leadership in this effort, to he and Trustee Joe Carreon for co-authoring this critical piece of policy with me, and to Trustee Joyce Foreman for helping to improve and clarify the language with an amendment.
Dallas ISD Bond Construction Updates:
Campus infrastructure upgrades funded by the proceeds from the 2020 Bond continue. For up-to-date information across the district, please see Dallas ISD’s dedicated 2020 Bond website.
As always, please reach out to me if you have thoughts, ideas, questions, concerns, or simply want to say hello!
Best,
Sarah Weinberg
P.S. Please consider supporting my campaign communication infrastructure which helps to keep our community engaged! Button below.
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